The National Disaster Recovery Framework introduces six new Recovery Support Functions 
that are led by designated federal coordinating agencies at the national level.  Recovery 
Support Functions involve partners in the local, State and Tribal governments and private 
and nonprofit sectors not typically involved in emergency support functions but critically 
needed in disaster recovery.   These new partners may include public and private 
organizations that have experience with permanent housing financing, economic 
development, advocacy for underserved populations and long-term community planning.  

The processes used for facilitating recovery are more flexible, context based and 
collaborative in approach than the task-oriented approach used during the response phase of 
an incident. Recovery processes should be scalable and based on demonstrated recovery 
needs.

Each Recovery Support Function has a designated coordinating agency along with primary 
agencies and supporting organizations with programs relevant to the functional area. The 
Recovery Support Function Coordinating Agency, with the assistance of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, provides leadership, coordination and oversight for that 
particular.  When coordinating agencies are activated to lead a Recovery Support Function, 
primary agencies and supporting organizations are expected to be responsive to the function 
related communication and coordination needs.

NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES 
Coordinating Agency:  Department of Interior 
Primary Agencies:  Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, Department of Interior and Environmental Protection Agency.  

Supporting Organizations:  Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Corporation for 
National and Community Service Council on Environmental Quality, Department of 
Commerce, Institute of Museum and Library Services.  Department of Interior, Library of 
Congress National Endowment for the Arts. National Endowment for the Humanities U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers and Heritage Preservation.  

Mission
Integrate Federal assets and capabilities to help State and Tribal governments and 
communities address long-term environmental and cultural resource recovery needs after 
large-scale and catastrophic incidents. 



Function
The core recovery capability for natural and cultural resources is the ability to protect 
natural and cultural resources and historic properties through appropriate response and 
recovery actions to preserve, conserve, rehabilitate, and restore them consistent with post-
disaster community priorities and in compliance with appropriate environmental and cultural 
resources laws. The Natural and Cultural Resources Recovery Support Function coordinates 
departments and agencies working together to provide information and assistance to 
communities seeking to preserve, protect, conserve, rehabilitate, recover and restore natural 
and cultural resources during recovery. 

Relevant agencies and partners are those with expertise and programs including, but not 
limited to, specific natural and cultural resource issue identification, assessment and 
management (e.g., fish and wildlife, historic and traditional cultural properties, hydrology); 
natural and cultural resource planning; environmental planning and historic preservation 
compliance under Federal laws and Executive Orders (specific to programs that provide 
funding for disaster recovery); and community sustainability.

PRE-DISASTER: THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES RECOVERY SUPPORT 
FUNCTION
*	Identifies relevant Federal programs and incentives that have a role in 
supporting the preservation, protection, conservation, rehabilitation, 
recovery and restoration of natural and cultural resources during 
recovery. 
*	Develops a pre-disaster Natural and Cultural Resources RSF action plan 
to identify and communicate priority actions. 
*	Identifies and prioritizes gaps and inconsistencies within and between 
relevant Federal regulations, policies, program requirements and 
processes affecting natural and cultural resources that are used in 
disaster recovery, either separately or in combination with one another, 
and makes recommendations to the National Disaster Recovery Planning 
(NDRP) Division at FEMA Headquarters and specific Federal agencies. 
*	Works with private nonprofits and other nongovernmental organizations 
(N G Os) to leverage opportunities to encourage local, State and Tribal 
governments and institutions to develop emergency management plans 
that integrate natural and cultural resource issues. 
*	Promotes the principles of sustainable and disaster resistant communities 
through the protection of natural resources such as coastal barriers and 
zones, floodplains, wetlands and other natural resources critical to risk 
reduction. 

*	Assesses appropriate hazard mitigation strategies for the protection of 
cultural resources. 




POST-DISASTER: THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES RECOVERY SUPPORT 
FUNCTION
*	When activated by the FDRC, the primary and supporting departments and 
agencies deploy in support of the Natural and Cultural Resources RSF 
mission. 
*	Works to leverage Federal resources and available programs to meet local 
community recovery needs. 
*	Identifies opportunities to leverage natural and cultural resource protection 
with hazard mitigation strategies. 
*	Addresses government policy and agency program issues, gaps and 
inconsistencies related to natural and cultural resource issues. 
*	Coordinates cross-jurisdictional or multistate and/or regional natural and 
cultural resource issues to ensure consistency of Federal support where 
needed. 
*	Encourages responsible agencies at all levels of government and their 
important private sector partners to support the local community’s 
recovery plan and priorities by developing a Natural and Cultural Resources 
action plan that identifies how the agencies leverage resources and 
capabilities to meet the community’s needs. 
*	Synchronizes the Natural and Cultural Resources action plan with other 
RSFs, as appropriate to support the broader vision of Federal support to 
disaster recovery. 
*	Helps communities and State and Tribal governments to leverage 
opportunities inherent in recovery to mitigate impacts to environmental or 
cultural resources. 
*	Promotes a systematic, interdisciplinary approach to understand the 
interdependencies and complex relationships of the natural and cultural 
environments. 
*	Maintains robust and accessible communications throughout the recovery 
process between the Federal Government and all other partners to ensure 
ongoing dialogue and information sharing.



OUTCOMES FOR THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES RECOVERY SUPPORT 
FUNCTION

With expertise drawn from Federal departments and agencies, the Natural and 
Cultural Resources RSF works so that: 
*	Considerations related to the management and protection of natural and 
cultural resources and historic properties (NCH) resources, community 
sustainability and compliance with environmental planning and historic 
preservation requirements are integrated into recovery. 
*	Local communities, States and Tribal governments are ready to address post-
disaster natural and cultural resource recovery needs. 
*	Programs to support disaster recovery, coordination of technical assistance 
and capabilities and data sharing are coordinated. 
*	Natural and cultural assessments and studies needed post-disaster, including 
proposed solutions to environmental and historic preservation policy and 
process impediments, are developed. 


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September 2011

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